A Promise
by Natskix
Summary: Sirius sees Harry for the first time in PoA.


Sirius knew that what he was doing was dangerous. The _smart_ thing to do, the _safe _thing to do would be to simply wait until he had reached Hogwarts, he was bound to see him there after all.

But Sirius Black simply could not wait that long before he saw his Harry, the little prongslet.

He still remembered the first time he laid eyes on him. The pure joy on James face when he carried Harry out of the delivery room, _I'd never seen him so happy_. He'd been never been as nervous as when James had placed the tiny child in his arms (he'd never really been good with kids) but from that first moment, when little Harry blinked up at him, he'd sworn he would do everything in his power to protect him.

A promise, that when the time came and the little prongslet needed him, he broke. It was his fault that James and Lily had died, his fault that Harry had been forced to group up an orphan and it was his fault that Harry had been raised by muggles instead of his Godfather. And he would never forgive himself.

But that wasn't why he was there now.

He made his way through the streets of Magnolia Crescent in his animagus form, hoping for a glimpse of his Godson. He wanted to make sure that he was safe, make sure that he was happy, but more than anything he just wanted to _see_ him.

He wasn't having much luck so far though. He had no idea where it was, that Lilys sister lived. She'd only mentioned it once, in passing and that was over 12 years ago. Sirius knew very little of the woman, only that she was a muggle and that she had hated her sister. How anyone could have hated Lily was beyond him, but he hoped that she had moved past that in the wake of everything that had happened.

Sirius was taking a huge risk in being there. He knew that. But it was a risk he was willing to take for the safety of the James and Lilys son.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps and the familiar sound of trunk being pulled along the pavement breached the cold silence. Sirius shrunk back into the shadows of an alley, careful not to be seen. A teenage boy was stomping down the street, dragging a trunk and a bird cage along with him. As he collapsed onto low wall and caught his breath, Sirius canine eyes were able to make out more of him. Short and skinny, with messy black hair and round glasses perched on his nose, Sirius felt as though he was looking at a ghost.

Something seemed to twist painfully in Sirius stomach. He was dead. James Potter was dead. _You saw the body. _

But none of that seemed to matter in that moment. It was as though no time had passed and he was standing in an alley, looking at his best friend once more.

Sirius was seized by a terrible desperation as he stepped forwards eagerly; mindless of the danger he was putting himself in. _Maybe it wasn't true_, he thought frantically. _Maybe it had all just been some kind of terrible nightmare and I had just imagined the whole thing._

He watched the boy hungrily, a small ounce of sense keeping him hidden rather that running out to see him. It was a good thing to, as not a second later the boy straightened and eyed the streets warily. It took every ounce of Sirius self control not to run out to him.

The boy turned back to his trunk, at the apparently deserted street and almost immediately turned back to the alley wand clenched in his fist. He squinted into the shadows before raising his wand and muttering '_Lumos_'.

Sirius felt as though his world was crashing down around him, as bright green eyes stared back at him. It wasn't James he was looking at. James was dead. Lily was dead.

This was Harry.

Part of him felt terribly sad, as though he had lost them all over again. It had been foolish of him to hope and made him wonder if he truly was mad. But another part of him felt immensely happy. This was Harry, his Harry and he was all grown up. He looked, _oh_ so much like his father but with Lilys beautiful emerald eyes.

Though Harry of course had no idea who he was, all he could see was a giant black dog who possibly meant him harm. Therefore it wasn't really surprising when he stepped back in surprise and tripped over his trunk, falling in the gutter and losing his wand in the process.

Sirius took the opportunity to disappear down the alley, towards the opposite street. He knew that considering who Harry was, Dumbledore was bound to have people watching him and Sirius had _definitely_ stayed too long.

But as Sirius made his way down the street, he felt true joy for the first time in 12 years. _That was Harry. That was his Godson._ And he was safe, at least for now. It was only a matter of time after all before Peter tried to take advantage of his position

And with that Sirius hatred consumed him once more. He would have his vengeance if it was the last thing he did. And no one was going to stand in his way.


End file.
